Problem selection, project scoping, and operationalizing impact. Three skills for maximizing research ROI.
Check out my prior entry in this series: Research ROI: Floors & Ceilings
This time, I want to share the framework I lean on when trying to coach researchers in maximizing ROI. The framework exists to cut through the vagaries of “this had insufficient impact” feedback. Chase ROI responsibly by decomposing the skills necessary: Problem Selection, Project Scoping, & Operationalizing Impact.
Problem Selection
In many ways, problem selection is the core “art” of Research. Picking high leverage, solvable problems is a matter of taste. However, there are still techniques for improving problem selection. The start is a deep understanding of the domain and landscape. Pay attention to the firehose of information: industry publications, academic research, competitors, adjacent domains, new technologies and developments. In a team, the benefit is your overlapping points of view, lightening this load on any individual.
Porting research is a powerful technique. Consider the possible variants of any research you encountered. This can be application across domain, technology, or simply in a new context or against new data. There are whole genres of repeatable research, like scanning marketplaces for secrets.
Fundamentally, picking a research problem is a balance. The idea project involves:
- Your interests and curiosity
- Your skills and comparative advantages, the work only you can do
- The risk landscape and gaps in existing research / literature
- The goals of your team and organization
“What is the most important problem in your field, and why aren’t you working on it?”
Cultivate a garden of interesting problems. Always keep a list of research ideas, and inspirational research. This can start as a simple bibliography or text document. If you think of a topic, or just a blog title, scribble it down. This compounds shockingly well.
Project Scoping
The next core element of successful research impact is to scope your work correctly. The ROI equation means that increased investment requires outsized return. As such, structuring your level of investment is essential. An amazing research outcome when delivered in a week may be a failure if it takes six months. This is without going into the timeliness component of research, where outcomes can be perishable.
Floors and ceilings is one framework that can help in rightsizing research. Long-term research balance is also essential, mixing big swings on big problems with quick wins. Set exit criteria for research to lock in ROI at the right moment.
Managing your projects for efficiency is another key element. As one key approach, stolen from Kanban: limit work-in-progress to increase throughput.
Operationalizing Impact
Finally, having selected an interesting problem and adequately scoping your approach, you also need to be proactive in setting up for success.
The foundation is identifying the beneficiaries of your research. Consider stakeholders, audience, and artifacts that will ensure your research generates impact. If you are struggling to define audience, there are safe defaults: your customer, your internal partners, or just your 6-months-ago self.
Ideally, research output should balance quality and quantity. Avoid sacrificing quality for quantity. Focus on hitting your floors; don’t lower them. Get work out the door, where you can analyze its impact.
Pair that with an understanding of possible vectors for impact, including:
- influencing product direction - by proving the possible
- enabling new product capabilities
- upleveling the industry - by advancing the state of the art
- generating marketing opportunities
- resolving core industry risk - and responsibly disclosing
- identifying vulnerabilities and getting them resolved
- creating new frameworks for managing security
Take the time after each effort to review and retro your impact. Research can be a hamster wheel, get off long enough to learn and continuously improve.
Putting It All Together
This framework has served me well, although I’m continuously refining it. Regardless, it gives you a means to proactively and systematically plan for and assess research ROI.
How do you think about maximizing ROI? Do you have a framework you like? I’m always looking to diversify my own methods!
Interested in more internals of Industry Research? Check out my coworker Amitai Cohen’s brilliant collection of essays at Rhythms of Research.